Hot heat and Provencal rosé
It’s over. I finished. I’m alive. Got round in 4 hours, 11 minutes and 18 seconds, which is a good two hours quicker than I feared.
Due to a knee injury, I was expecting to walk round. Started off with a trot, and just kept going, much to my surprise. Completed the first half in 1 hour and 52 minutes, then a combination of lack of fitness (age and not having been able to train for six weeks) and the 28 degree heat slowed me down considerably. Still an enjoyable route, though how I missed the Eiffel Tower that we apparently passed, I’m not sure. Must have been ‘in the zone’. Cough.
Bumping into my good friend Gregor at the 35k mark was an unexpected boon, and we dragged each other round for a while. Sadly, my lack of mental ‘race’ preparation did for me at the end. I was throwing everything at it to finish at 40k. The pain was increasing, but thought it was worth it with the end in sight. As we approached the final steps, imagine my surprise when I realised that it was actually a 42.2k race. Ouch. Really must read the pamphlet next time. Gregor powered on to finish in just under 4 hours (well done, mate). I chuckled in a few minutes later and enjoyed the final stretch as much as possible.
My knee feels better than before I started. Go figure. Maybe the five bottles of wine we consumed the day before the race were a magical elixir. If you’re not sure, it’s certainly worth a try.
Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me. It’s really very much appreciated.
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